Improvements At Surry

June 23, 1991

Virginia Power's chief executive officer says he has no plans to contest the latest rankings given the utility's Surry nuclear power station by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and that figures. The plant has come a long way in a short time, and its work force, from top management on down, deserves commendation for getting it into better shape.

Two years ago, Surry was a troubled nuke plant, holding the lowest NRC rating in five of seven areas and singled out on an embarrassingly exclusive list of problem sites. The community had good reason to be a little worried about the health of its potentially volatile neighbor, and all of Virginia Power's customers had cause for concern about the costliness of the frequent fines and reactor shutdowns the plant faced.

But a new management team has since turned things around. NRC inspectors have found improvement in plant operations, radiological controls, maintenance and surveillance and safety assessment and quality verification. Perhaps the best compliment of all is that Surry is identifying some of its problems before the NRC does. And it is reassuring to hear that the release of radiation at the plant is at its lowest level since both reactors began operating in 1973.

A healthy nuclear power plant is an asset to a community. It reduces dependence on other types of energy more prone to pollution, provides jobs, enriches the economy and provides revenue for the host locality, in this case Surry County.

The Surry plant still has room for improvement. The physical condition of the facility was one area cited, and Virginia Power can surely file its reports to the NRC faster. But those should be small hurdles for a company that has improved in leaps and bounds recently.